PM Shehbaz meets KP CM Sohail Afridi in Islamabad

2026-02-02 - 07:36

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday at the PM House in Islamabad. During the meeting, the KP CM discussed the issue of the provincial government’s pending funds with the premier, among other issues. Speaking to the media after the meeting, CM Afridi termed the development a “demand of his role”. “Perhaps as a political worker, I would never have sat there. But I deemed it appropriate for my people and my province, where the conditions are getting serious — whether financially or due to decisions made in closed rooms,” he said. In a post on X shortly after 12pm, PTI’s North Punjab chapter confirmed that CM Afridi had reached the PM House. Addressing a jirga in Khyber on Sunday, CM Afridi had said he was set to meet the premier in Islamabad on Monday to “plead the case of KP’s rights and secure our outstanding dues”. The meeting comes a week after the KP CM wrote a letter to PM Shehbaz over what he dubbed the Centre’s “persistent failure” to release “constitutionally guaranteed” funds allocated for KP, particularly those committed for the merged districts under the NFC. Contending that the lack of funds had “now translated into an acute fiscal and governance crisis for the province”, Afridi had demanded the “full and unconditional” release of all outstanding federal dues. The KP CM maintained that his province was entitled to receive Rs658.4 billion under the NFC, but it had received just Rs604bn so far, leading to a shortfall of Rs54.4bn. Since becoming the chief minister in October last year, Afridi has repeatedly accused the federal government of stalling the release of funds allocated for KP. More to follow